Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un: Could Handshake of Peace Bring Boxing to North Korea?
Editorial By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
United States President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un have shaken hands, as the summit of peace is now underway in Singapore. A more relevant sports question is could this meeting of titans lead to an opening of professional athletics in North Korea, specifically, pro boxing?
North Korea boxers have defected. Hyun Mi Choi holds the WBA World Female Super featherweight title. However, now that the North Korean and South Korean Olympic teams have combined, and now that Kim Jong Un is open to negotiation with the West, the shifting tides might create an opening to allow professional athletics into North Korean for the very first time.
North Korea’s drawbacks have been its nuclear arsenal, extreme poverty, and total isolation from the rest of the world. However, Kim Jong Un would like American weapons removed from the Korean Peninsula. Kim Jong-un’s hand has been forced. He had to come to the table. Over seven decades of mutual hostility have fallen.
If an understanding between North Korea and the United States can be reached, the borders and gates of North Korea could be opened for the first time. In terms of boxing and MMA, this could mean a flood of talented North Korean amateur and professional boxers and mixed martial artists could reach the west in the lighter weight classes where Asian athletes have always excelled. Anti-nuclear treaty would be the start of something good, and opening up North Korea to let its athletes travel to compete would be the ultimate caviar. Promoters could have a new interest in North Korean boxers, given nobody knows for sure how many talented North Korean boxers will emerge in the near future.
One thing is for sure. The Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un Singapore summit represents more than just peace and the hope of a better world. It also represents a hope for economic and cultural exchange, which would benefit both North Korea and the athletes who represent it if allowed the freedom of travel to compete in other lands, free from punitive measures. Let’s hope President Trump and Jong-un can achieve success. Monday’s handshake was one small step for peace, one giant step for everyone.
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